Two AFL giants owe members the truth

Former Essendon sports scientist Stephen Dank. Picture: James Croucher. Source: The Daily Telegraph

IN the past six months, two of the AFL's biggest brands - Adelaide and Essendon - have vowed to bare their souls in public, or at least to their members.

Each has sinned. Neither has fully confessed.

The Bombers had their chance on Monday.

Ziggy Switkowski was under the impression from Essendon chairman David Evans there would be full disclosure of his internal report on how the Bombers lost their way while Stephen Dank and Dean Robinson ran a fitness program that is now the subject of AFL and Federal Government investigations.

The members and the public remain in the dark on some key issues of the Tippett saga

In fairness to Evans, the Switkowski report is under threat - if made public in full - of defamation hearings, particularly from Robinson, who was the high-performance manager at Windy Hill last season.

In further fairness to Essendon, the corruption of its procedures was so severe last year that even today the Bombers cannot tell their players what substances they took in the search for a competitive edge.

Adelaide has less to hold back full disclosure - as promised - on the Kurt Tippett affair.

The members and the public - who were assured by Crows chairman Rob Chapman of being told "the whole story" - remain in the dark on some key issues.

Just what happened in September 2009 when Tippett signed a contract with secret attachments is either to stay private or become the focus of a book by any of the key players.

Regardless, there are two fascinating points in each scandal that need to be pushed.

At Essendon, there is the problem of the letter that club doctor Bruce Reid wrote on January 15, 2012, expressing concern at the Dank-Robinson program. This letter never reached the board - and remains lost.

"Bruce did write a letter," Evans says, "and ... we're confused as to where that letter went."

But AFL clubs are small pods. Is it harsh or too simplistic to ask why Reid - as he constantly bumped into Evans in the changerooms, team hotels and flights - never asked why he had no response to his letter?

Had the lines of communication at Windy Hill broken down that much?

At Adelaide, there is the question of just how much the Crows board knew of the Tippett deal - or how much they asked of it.

Considering so many questions of secret clauses were in the media, a concerned club director should have asked for clarity at board meetings.

Chapman says the board minutes confirm his directors did ask and they were satisfied with the answer. The response of "manageable risk" may indicate the board was too easily satisfied with the answer - and the AFL penalties further enhance that impression.

An adjunct professor from the University of Adelaide, Mark Coleman, this month has published a business paper questioning the Adelaide FC's governance.

"I questioned," he writes, "a number of colleagues, all well experienced in governance roles ... "

The conclusions are quite damning of the Crows board, and certain to draw a response from Chapman, who is going to great lengths to correct the governance problems at West Lakes.

But no member at Adelaide or Essendon yet has the full story as they were promised.

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Tex's tissue rejection unlikely

Adelaide Crows key forward Taylor Walker, on crutches outside AAMI Stadium. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: The Advertiser

ADELAIDE club doctor Andrew Potter has hosed down fears Taylor Walker's body might reject the donated tissue in his reconstructed knee, saying the risk is "a five-percenter".

Walker had surgery on Monday night to repair the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and damaged lateral collateral ligament in his right knee.

The lateral ligament was repaired with tissue from a dead donor, while the ACL used Walker's own hamstring.

Potter yesterday declared the surgery a success and said the risk that the foreign tissue would not take was "minor".

"I don't think that (rejection) is likely to be a problem at all," Potter said.

"There's been a lot talked about the donated tissue (being rejected) and, really, that's a five percenter.

"He's had some repair to the torn lateral side of the joint and it's a bit like putting a bit of steel reinforcing rod in concrete - you just put a bit of reinforcement in to bolster that ligament so that it gives him some extra support.

"But the possibility of rejection is minor. It's not like having a kidney transplant or a heart transplant, where you have rejection (risks). And this is standard procedure for this particular injury."

Potter said Walker would remain in hospital until late this week, but expected the star forward would be walking with crutches in two to three weeks. "There were no complications," he said.

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Chaplin laments Port time wasted

Former Power defender Troy Chaplin takes a strong grab for Richmond in a match against Collingwood. Picture: Quinn Rooney. Source: Getty Images

RICHMOND defender Troy Chaplin has jabbed Port Adelaide ahead of his return to AAMI Stadium on Saturday by raking the ashes of Matthew Primus' failed football program.

Chaplin walked to the Tigers as a free agent after 140 games with Port - many of which the Victorian draftee now suggests were wasted by being with a mediocre football club.

"One of the biggest criticisms I had was the coaching just wasn't there," said Chaplin of his memories at Alberton.

A member of Port's leadership group before he defected to Richmond, Chaplin has taken issue with the fitness program he endured at Alberton.

This has changed this season with the return of Darren Burgess from English Premier League club Liverpool.

Chaplin also questions the coaching team put around Primus, who was sacked last season after Port's round 19 loss to new AFL franchise Greater Western Sydney.

This has changed with the arrival of Ken Hinkley as senior coach and the experienced Alan Richardson as coaching director.

"They've always had a talented list," said Chaplin on Melbourne radio SEN when asked if he is surprised by Port's sudden turnaround this season.

"(But Port) just has not been able to get guys on the track.

"Their fitness is really strong (now).

"They've gone out and got Ken Hinkley and Alan Richardson and put some strong money in that area and really turned it around.

"(Port's rise) has surprised me a little bit, but not to the extent it has surprised everyone else in the footy world."

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Power shows a duty of care

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas with SA Premier Jay Weatherill, left, at the launch of partnership between the club and Foodbank. Picture: Sarah Reed Source: The Advertiser

PORT Adelaide is standing tall in the corporate sponsorship world again - and the Power will not abandon the charity that gave the AFL club its "good citizen" look to achieve that aim.

Port this week is dedicating its AFL home game against Richmond to Foodbank's End Hunger campaign and is staying true to the charity for the next three years.

Foodbank's logo - which appeared on the club jumper until French car manufacturer Renault signed up as a major sponsor in the summer - will appear on the Power team shorts for the next three seasons.

The joint partnership will be incorporated in the Power Community Limited arm of the Port Adelaide Football Club, which works with schools and indigenous communities.

"Our commitment is not waning - it is evolving and growing stronger," Port chief executive Keith Thomas said yesterday.

Thomas does not dismiss the cynicism that came with Port's alliance with Foodbank last year.

The criticism has less credence today when Port is again a corporate darling and still offering valued AFL exposure and time to Foodbank.

Power footballers, from left, Dom Cassisi, Matthew Lobbe and Brett Ebert show off their new-look guernseys with Foodbank logos. Picture: Sarah Reed

"We can't hide from the fact we were unappealing last year," Thomas said.

"Linking up with Foodbank gave us the opportunity to be seen as a good citizen by giving back to the community rather than taking.

"We wanted to be seen as doing good things in the community. That was to open opportunities for us to a different type of corporate backer.

"A year later the corporate world is seeing our link with Foodbank in the true light.

"We believe in our role to help the community and we certainly believe in Foodbank's mission to end hunger.

"We have helped raise awareness of hunger in society at a time when Foodbank had little visibility. Now we are making a long-term commitment to Foodbank.

"We knew we could not keep Foodbank's End Hunger logo on our jumper when the corporate sponsorship returned, but we're signalling our commitment by putting the logo on our players' shorts for three years."

Staying true to Foodbank comes as the Port Adelaide Football Club has lifted corporate sponsorship by $500,000, increased its membership by 10 per cent to add $1 million to its coffers, merchandise sales by 30 per cent and home crowds by 54 per cent.

Foodbank has gained from helping to repair Port's public image.

The charity's sponsorship with the Power generated $1.1 million of national media exposure for the End Hunger campaign.

It raised $283,000 to fund Foodbank supplies and programs, which generated 500,000kg of food. This amounted to 200,000 meals for 50,000 hungry South Australian families.

Foodbank's increased profile by being attached to an AFL club allows the charity to walk into more than 600 new opportunities for corporate backing.

In the Port deal this includes links to the Bendigo Bank, the Walker Corporation, Envestra, Transfield Services and The Advertiser.

The fundraising will continue on Saturday with Port fans asked to pick up "Cans of Opportunity" at Gate 3 at AAMI Stadium. These are to be returned to the club by September 6, with every dollar raised going directly to Foodbank.

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Reilly wants Otten down back

Adelaide defender Andy Otten and spoils Hawthorn's Jack Gunston. Picture: Sarah Reed Source: The Advertiser

VETERAN Crows defender Brent Reilly is pleading with coach Brenton Sanderson to not "rob Peter to pay Paul" by reassigning Andy Otten to attack.

Reilly yesterday declared the Crows cannot afford the luxury of recasting Otten as a forward, particularly after the Adelaide back six achieved its best team system on Saturday against Hawthorn.

"I don't think we can," Reilly said ahead of today's match committee session at West Lakes where Sanderson still has to find a working forward six in the wake of the Taylor Walker setback.

"Andy has had an outstanding year already down back. Personally, I like Andy down back - he helps me out in the air and he helps Ben Rutten and Daniel Talia as well.

"We need him in our back line."

Otten became Sanderson's option to cover Walker a fortnight ago when the key forward damaged his right knee on the MCG.

Sanderson opted for defender Matthew Jaensch in the new-look Adelaide attack last week, but vowed to revisit using Otten as a forward against Greater Western Sydney on Sunday.

Walker's radical surgery - with an allograft using a dead person's tendon to repair a lateral ligament - was declared a success yesterday by club doctor Andrew Potter.

Critically, the surgeons found no new damage beyond the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and torn lateral ligament.

"There were no unexpected findings with the surgery, which was successful," Potter said. "Taylor will now rest and recuperate for three weeks before starting his rehabilitation program."

Walker will have 12 months out of football.

Adelaide will resume training tomorrow with the Scott Thompson controversy far from cleared away, despite the Crows players trying to avoid being caught in bashing umpire Ray Chamberlain's erroneous call in last Saturday's loss to Hawthorn.

Reilly was far from convincing yesterday when he asked if he knew what he can and cannot do in a marking contest.

"We just have to adapt to the game," Reilly said. "That is the way the game is going at this stage. As players we have to keep adapting to it.

"We have to adapt to every rule they have brought in. If they call a free kick, they call a free kick. We can't change their minds.

"There's a few things that as players we know what's right and what's wrong. We make mistakes and umpires make mistakes."

Reilly was more forceful in selling a message that the Crows are far from sunk with a 2-4 record.

"There is a good feeling around the footy club at the moment - the boys are up and about," Reilly said.

"We played some really good footy at the weekend. We made some mistakes that might have cost us the game in the end.

"But we're looking forward to getting to Sydney and playing some of our best footy that hasn't been seen this year."

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Sheedy: AFL needs another Sydney team

Giants coach Kevin Sheedy, right, chats with AFL boss Andrew Demetriou at the announcement of the GWS's new training facility at Sydney Olympic Park. Picture: Cameron Richardson. Source: The Daily Telegraph

THE AFL needs a third team in Sydney.

Think it's crazy? The GWS Giants already have 12,000 members in our second season. That's more than Wests Tigers, Cronulla, Manly and Penrith in the NRL.

Look at what we have already achieved in western Sydney and tell me the AFL couldn't support a third team here.

We have a first-class venue in Skoda Stadium in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct. It's a 25,000-seat stadium that we reckon we can fill on a regular basis within five years.

We have an elite training facility with the Tom Wills Oval being opened this week.

We have a great facility in StarTrack Oval in Canberra.

This didn't exist four years ago. The AFL should be planning now to have a team in southern Sydney, representing the Shire down to the South Coast.

They need to be just as brave as they were with the Giants, when they made a $200 million investment in western Sydney.

Still, the AFL was 15 years late in starting the Giants in western Sydney. We can't make that mistake again.

We're building the foundations of the Giants now. They are strong foundations that will allow the club to be on its feet and firing in five to 10 years.

We've got to make up for lost time. The AFL needs to be thinking now about planning for another Sydney-based team in the next 15 years. Yes, it should be that soon.

If you really want to get AFL in a much stronger position, you really should have a team in the north, west, east and south of Sydney.

Sydney's population is expected to be pushing six million in 2030.

Three teams means two million people for the three clubs. It means all three have the scope to be among the biggest in the AFL. The potential is limitless.

The Giants might be just finding our feet now, but we'll be ready when the third club comes in.

The Swans have been here for 31 years and have 33,000 members as well.

The game is bigger than the Swans and it's bigger than us.

We have to be quicker with our development than the Swans were.

There is no plan B to slow down or scale back the ambitious targets we have set. We already have the foundations in place for the Giants to become a big club.

Even Andrew Demetriou thinks we'll one day become as big as the West Coast Eagles are in Perth.

Many people in Sydney will be worried and shocked by this. We've just arrived and we intend to make western Sydney proud.

Sydney is only going to get bigger and all those people deserve another team that's going to represent them and make them proud, too.

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Sydney Swans won't bug Buddy

Sydney Swans coach John Longmire laughs off suggestions his side will physically target fiery Hawks star Lance Franklin.

Lance Franklin dances through traffic in the 2012 Grand Final. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun

SWANS coach John Longmire says his club will not look to poke the bear and go after Hawthorn superstar Buddy Franklin with niggling tactics in Saturday night's grand final rematch at the MCG.

Franklin was this week labelled irritable and a ticking time bomb after lashing out recklessly in back-to-back goalless performances.

However, Longmire said any attempt to provoke the Hawthorn power forward could backfire spectacularly.

"My experience with the very best players is that's not something you try to do," Longmire said.

"I saw some niggling tactics applied to Wayne Carey and they weren't that successful.

"So we go about our business to try and make sure we beat them as we should, and that's in a good strong honest contest - and that's what we expect.

"We played them three times last year and every one of those were really high-quality contests and we expect nothing different this year.

"(Franklin) has had seven shots at goal (in the past two games). His athleticism is such that he does make some defenders get concerned about what he can do.

"We all know what he can do when he's playing at his best.

"He looks as if he's competing really well and working really hard.

"I just think there have been a couple of weeks where he has missed a few shots at goal.

"He has been working hard and presenting.

"The best way to play well is just to keep doing the things he has been doing well.

"You know they'll turn, particularly with the best players, and he is one of the best."

Rather than focus on Franklin, the Swans identified Hawthorn defender Brian Lake as a contest changer, making it much more difficult for key Sydney targets Mike Pyke, Sam Reid and Shane Mumford to dominate in the forward line.

Having joined the Hawks from the Bulldogs during last year's trade period, the former two-time All Australian defender has added depth to the club's ability to stop sides with as many options up forward as the Swans have.

"That's what makes them a bit of a different proposition," Longmire said of the Hawks.

"That'll be a challenge for us.

"We have to make sure that we just don't kick the ball to Brian's advantage because he and (Josh) Gibson are two of the best spoilers in the game.

"You can't expect to just bang it into your forward line."

The Swans have been hit by more bad news on the injury front, with rebounding defender Rhyce Shaw's return from an abdominal strain delayed until at least round nine.

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Kennett: Dons must pay the price

AFL 360 hosts Gerard Whateley and Mark Robinson review the latest in the Essendon doping saga after the release of the Ziggy Switkowski report.

Shane Crawford details his plan to recover from a disastrous week in SuperCoach.

Former Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett says heads should already have rolled at Essendon. Picture: Calum Robertson. Source: The Advertiser

Macca cartoon. David McArthur cartoon. IF IT WAS BUSINESS THEY'D ALL BE SACKED. THIS IS BUSINESS AS USUAL. (Jeff Kennett. Essendon. Supplements. Doping.)

FORMER Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett says heads should have rolled at Essendon months ago.

Kennett yesterday told a Melbourne charity lunch the football world was far too busy protecting its "personalities" to do the right thing by the game.

"The failure of the duty of care (at Essendon) in terms of the processes is so clear," Kennett said.

Dons to claim drug was legal

"And if it had been at my club, there would have been accountability from the moment it became public.

"You can't treat your employees (the players) in the way that they were treated by the management of Essendon. It's just not good enough.

Essendon chief exectutive Ian Robson and Bombers coach James Hird watch from the back row as chairman David Evans reveals the Switkowski report. Source: Getty Images

"I understand the white line, on edge trying to win. But you do have a duty of care and I think that failed dramatically.

"People should be held to account for it, and if you were in the private sector I can assure you, you would be held accountable.

"But in football, where we tend to support individuals, we often forget we have a responsibility for the long-term success of the code.

"That is what the administrators of the AFL or at any club level should be focused on - rather than the personalities of the day. The code must be secured."

Bombers chief executive Ian Robson, coach James Hird, senior assistant Mark Thompson and football boss Danny Corcoran were all indirectly fingered in Ziggy Switkowski's internal review into Essendon's practices in 2012 - released on Monday - but have kept their jobs.

Kennett repeated his view that the AFL had compromised the standing of the game with recent decisions on the Melbourne tanking saga, the sacking of Adelaide recruiter Matt Rendell and Stephen Trigg's survival from the Crows' salary cap rort.

"I think we've seen standards diminished over the past two or three years - and once you reduce standards it is very hard to ever rebuild them," Kennett told the 500 Supporters' Group lunch at the MCG.

Asked later to expand on his comments, Kennett said: "If I had been president of Hawthorn and that had occurred under my watch - and I genuinely didn't know about it - then I would have acted very quickly.

"I know we are all not perfect and we all make mistakes, but in terms of procedure, this has been so appalling and so totally unacceptable.

"I'm not against Essendon, I'm not against Adelaide, I'm not against any individual - to me it's about standards.

"And my great concern is that the AFL has been so successful that they have allowed personalities to increasingly dominant the decision-making process."

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Crows searching for answers

Adelaide Crows coach Brenton Sanderson labelled some of his players "fat heads" last week. Picture: Tait Schmaal. Source: The Advertiser

CROWS coach Brenton Sanderson can no longer question the attitude of his erratic players - but the so-called "fat heads" at West Lakes are now giving themselves headaches finding answers to their mysterious form slump.

Adelaide midfielder Rory Sloane says the simple key to salvaging the Crows' season - that is delicately balanced with a 2-4 win-loss count - hinges on players finding pride in their work again.

"It all starts on the training track," Sloane said.

"It's about guys taking it up to themselves. Your performance is up to you. You have to take a lot of ownership and pride in your performance."

A week after Sanderson challenged his players to stop basking in the glow of their 2012 season, by labelling them as "fatheads", the Crows did restore their reputation as a difficult opponent by pushing AFL premiership favourite Hawthorn at home on Saturday. They came within 11 points.

But not winning, for the third time in four games at AAMI Stadium, highlights how Adelaide is eroding the gains from 2012 when the Crows were among the AFL stand-outs with 17 wins in 22 home-and-away games.

"We have to start winning those close games," Sloane said.

"Beating Hawthorn would have been a great way to get the season rolling, but we weren't good enough. If we can tidy up on a few key areas, we will definitely be back to where we were at last year."

Beyond the issues of poor tackling, poor forward movement, less power in the midfield and injuries robbing them of key staff, the common theme of Adelaide's season is the erratic and disappointing form of so  many valued players.

"That is what coaches have been trying to figure out forever," said Sloane.

He dismisses the "fathead" charge - one the Crows have had to answer internally while the critics have been asking what happened to the hunger for success they vowed to carry from the bitter preliminary final loss to Hawthorn in September.

"We have no reason to have fat heads at all and no reason to be thinking like that," said Sloane. "That is why we are trying to stamp that (image) out because we are definitely not satisfied with last year.

"We were a kick off a grand final ... and we're not satisfied with the way we have been playing."

The state of the Adelaide player list - particularly when the Crows face a lock-out of the first two rounds of the November national draft because of the Kurt Tippett saga - will be a greater point of debate if the club fails to reach consecutive finals.

Adelaide had 13 players from the 22 who battled Hawthorn in last year's epic AFL preliminary final appear in the rematch at AAMI Stadium on Saturday.

The preliminary final was lost by five points - with the Crows bitter at umpiring decisions in the night game.

They lost the rematch by 11 points, and were frustrated by one critical umpiring call on midfielder Scott Thompson early in the last term.

The key difference in the two line-ups is the absence of  damaging small and medium forwards Ian Callinan, Graham Johncock and Jared Petrenko, who are out of form, and the loss of Tippett and Taylor Walker.

Two players who missed the preliminary final rematch because of injury - captain Nathan van Berlo and utility Ricky Henderson - are back in contention for Sunday's clash with Greater Western Sydney at Skoda Stadium.

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